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Strongest earthquake in 40 years startles western New York
New York earthquake: The shaking lasted a few seconds and sent residents first to their windows and then to social media in search of an explanation.
A small earthquake rumbled through western New York early Monday, alarming people in a region unaccustomed to such shaking but apparently causing no significant damage.
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The US Geological Survey preliminarily reported a 3.8 earthquake centered east of Buffalo in the suburb of West Seneca at about 6:15 a.m. Seismologist Yaareb Altaweel said it was the region's strongest quake in at least 40 years.
The shaking lasted a few seconds and sent residents first to their windows and then to social media in search of an explanation.
“It felt like a car hit my house in Buffalo. I jumped out of bed,” Erie County Executive Mark Poloncarz tweeted. County emergency services officials confirmed the earthquake was felt in at least a 30-mile radius, including in Niagara Falls, about 20 miles north of Buffalo, he said.
Earthquake Canada, which measured a 4.2 magnitude event, reported it was felt slightly in southern Ontario.
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Small earthquakes are not unusual in upstate New York but are rarely felt as strongly. The earthquake comes on the heels of two record-breaking weather events in the region: A snowstorm that dropped as much as 7 feet of snow in November and a blizzard in December that is blamed for 47 deaths.
